Mosul Police Station blown Up, many Dead
31 Killed Saturday, Dozens Wounded

Mosul: A suicide bomber detonated his payload at the central police station in Mosul on Sunday morning, bringing down part of the wall and killing at least 5 persons, 4 of them officers. At least 7 were wounded. The rubble was still being searched Sunday mid-morning Baghdad time.

On Saturday, wire services report, , "a suicide attacker rammed his vehicle into an Iraqi police patrol on a bridge in southwest Mosul, killing at least five and wounding two . . ." This attack aimed at killing the provincial chief of police, but he was not in the convoy.

Tel Afar In the northern, Turkmen city of Tel Afar, Reuters reports, "Residents and officials at Tal Afar . . . where U.S. troops have cracked down this month, said three bomb attacks were followed by a battle involving U.S. tanks and helicopters that lasted about three hours. Hospital officials said at least two civilians were killed."

Samarra: The Associated Press reports that on Saturday, a suicide bomber targeting the home of a special forces police officer instead killed 9 persons on the street.

Ramadi: On Friday, 20 guerrillas captured 8 policemen at a checkpoint near the city, took them to their offices, and mowed them down with gunfire.

Baghdad: On Sunday morning, guerrillas assassinated Col. Riyad Abdul Karim, the deputy head of one of Baghdad's main police departments.

Guerillas fired three mortar rounds at a thronging cafe in a mostly Shiite district of western Baghdad Saturday evening. They killed 5 civilians and wounded 7.

Guerrillas killed two police commandos patrolling West Baghdad on Saturday. Another policeman was found assassinated.

Amara: Guerrillas assassinated three policemen 46 miles south of Amara on Saturday.

Kirkuk: On Saturday, three Iraqi policemen were killed in Kirkuk, along with two Kurdish truck drivers delivering cement to the Americans:

From FBIS

Saturday, June 25, 2005 T20:59:22Z

"KIRKUK, June 25 (MENA) - Two Kurdish drivers were killed Saturday when their trucks came under fire by unidentified gunmen on Kirkuk-Tikrit road in northern Iraq. The truckers were carrying cement to US forces in northern Iraq, said eyewitnesses, adding that the attackers were dressed in Iraqi army uniform . . ."

KIRKUK, June 25 (MENA) - An Iraqi police convoy came under fire in Iraq's northern oil-rich city of Kirkuk. Three Iraqi policemen were injured in the attack that took place in Kirkuk's Al-Alamin district. Meantime, Kirkuk's Multaqa municipality chief Hiroush Abdel Karim survived an attempt on his life earlier in the day when an explosive charge went off near his motorcade. Two civilian cars were destroyed and a citizen was injured in the blast . . ."

The New York Times reports that Iraqi reconstruction efforts are plagued by graft.

Peter Beaumont reports for the Guardian from Baghdad that sectarian reprisal killings are on the rise in Iraq, and increasing hatred between Sunnis and Shiites are fueling them.

At least 70 radicalized British Muslims are fighting on the side of the guerrillas in Iraq, according to the Times of London. There are about 1.7 million Muslims in the UK excluding Northern Ireland, which does not keep statistics on them. (The UK population is approximately 60 million). Many second-generation Muslims are not well integrated into UK society and say they face discrimination and unemployment, especially in smaller cities like Bradford, the site of a race riot. On the other hand, 70 out of 1.7 million is not very many.

Reports from the Iraqi press via BBC World Monitoring for June 23:

"Al-Da'wah publishes on the front page a 70-word report stating that 40 National Assembly members presented to the assembly a bill regarding the formation of the southern federal bloc that comprises Basra, Al-Nasiriyah, and Maysan Governorates . . .

Al-Furat publishes on page 2 a 100-word report on the conclusion of the recent conference of the Advisory Councils of the southern governorates in Basra. The report says that the conference demanded 17% of Iraq's budget [i.e. oil income]. . .

Al-Adalah carries on page 1 a 150-word report citing Vice-President Adil Abd-al-Mahdi as saying that the there are no differences between the Unified Iraqi Alliance and the Kurdistan Coalition on adopting federalism as a form of government in Iraq . . .

Al-Hawzah publishes on page 1 a 200-word text of Muqtada al-Sadr's answers to questions by a number of "militant speaking Hawzah" regarding participation in the municipal councils' elections as candidates and electorate. Al-Sad says that religious scholars are not allowed to become candidates, while others are granted this right "under the condition that they are selfless, able to resist earthly temptation, and work to gain Iraq's independence."

Al-Bayan carries on page 2 a 100-word report citing chairman of the Baghdad Governorate Council saying that the council has made all arrangements for the elections of the municipal councils in Baghdad, scheduled for the end of July . . .

Al-Zaman publishes on page 4 a 600-word part 1 of a report on an interview with National Assembly member Mufid al-Jaza'iri, who says that a deadline for drafting the constitution is not [far] enough [off]. He adds that the government's decision to extend the stay of multinational forces has been taken without consulting the National Assembly . . .

Al-Dustur publishes on the front page a 300-word report stating that Iraqi tribal chiefs continued their sit in demanding that the Iraqi government review its recent decision to extend the stay of multinational forces in Iraq. The report cites the organizer of the sit in, Ali Hudhayfah, as saying that the reason behind the sit in is "to inform the elected Iraqi government that the Iraqi people are opposing the presence of these forces." He added that a number of National Assembly members, namely Falah Shanshal, Karim al-Bakhati, and Baha al-A'araji, have visited and declared solidarity with us. The report cites Shaykh Hatam Hashim al-Sadkhan, chief of the Al-Hamid tribe in Dhi Qar Governorate, as saying: "We have come to this place to support the National Assembly's decision of the withdrawal of US forces and to denounce the Iraqi government's decision regarding extension of the stay of multinational forces in Iraq." . . .

Al-Furat publishes on the front page a 300-word report citing well-informed US sources affirming that 80% of the funds allocated by the US for the reconstruction of Iraq have disappeared. The report says that this indicates large scale embezzlements and corruption. . . [This is a vast exaggeration - JC]

Al-Furat publishes on the front page a 160-word report citing Iraqi sources in Basra and Al-Nasiriyah Governorates asserting that a large number of the Al-Bidun, who were expelled by Kuwait after the Gulf War in 1991, are now working as informants for the US Army . . .

Al-Mada publishes on the front page a 150-word report saying that strict security measures have been taken by the Iraqi police to protect 3,000 people who staged a demonstration in Al-Najaf Governorate demanding the release of all detainees from the prisons, especially those from the Al-Sadr trend. . . .

Al-Furat publishes on page 2 a 200-word citing a health source as saying that 67,196 diarrhea cases were reported in Iraq in 2004. The source predicted that the number of cases will increase this summer due to drinking water pollution . . .

Al-Mashriq publishes on page 4 a 300-word report saying that the Ministry of Health has warned the citizens against drinking the water supplied through pipelines without boiling it, adding that diarrhea is currently spreading among people.

Al-Mashriq publishes on page 4 a 300-word report saying that the Environment Ministry has warned against the increase of environmental waste allover Baghdad . . .

Al-Manar al-Yawm carries on page 3 a 300-word article criticizing the Mojahidin-e-Khalq Organization for being a terrorist organization during the time of the former regime. . .